Phil Spencer leaves no Illusions About Game Pass Price Increase
Phil Spencer admitted that sooner or later the price of Game Pass will be raised again. He also referred to the issue of potential exclusives for the subscription.
During the Tokyo Game Show, Xbox division head Phil Spencer gave an interesting interview regarding the future of the Game Pass subscription.
- Phil Spencer admitted that in the future the price of Game Pass will go up again. However, he stressed that such decisions will always be made so that the service continues to be very profitable for customers.
- Spencer's statements should not be interpreted as an announcement of a rapid price increase. Game Pass has recently become more expensive in some countries, so we are likely to wait a long time for another move of this type.
- Spencer also categorically denied rumors that any game will be available exclusively through subscription in the future. Any game from the Game Pass offer will always be available for purchase on a permanent basis. As he explains, Microsoft's goal is to provide players with freedom of choice so that as many people as possible play productions from the Xbox ecosystem.
- It is worth mentioning that currently Game Pass generates $3.9 billion in revenue annually. Microsoft expects, that by 2030 this amount will increase to $8 billion a year. That's a big increase, but it's realistic considering that Activision Blizzard games should soon be added to the service's offerings.
Recall that Game Pass made its debut in 2017 on Xbox One and PC. At the time, the price was $9, but in order to play online on the console you had to buy an Xbox Live Gold subscription in addition for $5. Two years later, Microsoft launched Xbox Game Pass Ultimate, which, for $12 a month, combined the two services, also adding a cloud gaming option. At the same time the company launched PC Game Pass, which in the beta version cost only $4 per month - after testing ended, the price was raised to $9
